Biblical Concordances

BIBLICAL CONCORDANCES. - Collections, arranged in alphabetical order, of the various words or ideas of the Bible. The individual words or ideas are reported in their immediate context with the indication of the book, chapter and verse that contain them. The former are called "verbal" concordances, the latter "real" concordances. Verbal concordances constitute a precious means of finding the precise citation of a thought or episode only vaguely remembered. Real concordances place before the reader's eyes in an organic and complete form all the fundamental or particularly important ideas of the Bible.

The first verbal concordances arose in the 13th century on the text of the Latin Vulgate. Hugh of St. Cher (ca. 1230) is considered their first deviser. But the concordance of Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1263) also saw the light at about the same period. The first, revised subsequently, was printed in 1475 at Strasbourg, while the second saw the light only in 1606 at Antwerp through the work of Luke of Bruges (v.). Among the other concordances should be noted that of Gaspar de Zamora (Rome 1627), those of the Benedictines of Wessobrunn (Augsburg 1751), of F. P. Dutrion (Paris 1838), of H. de Raas, E. de Lachaud and J. Flandrin (Paris-Lyon 1852), continually reprinted down to the present day, of G. Tonini (Prato 1861), of M. Bechis (Turin 1887-88), of V. Cornart (Regensburg 1897), of E. Peultier, L. Etienne and L. Gantois (Paris 1897, reprint of 1939).

Among the Hebrew concordances should be remembered that of Isaac Nathan (1437-45), printed for the first time in Venice in 1523, that of the Capuchin Mario de Calassio (Rome 1621), that of the Protestant G. Buxtorf the Elder (Basel 1632) and that of the Jew S. Mandelkern (Leipzig 1896-1900; minor edition, ibid. 1900).

Among the Greek concordances for the Old Testament, that of the Anglicans E. Hatch and H. A. Redpath (Oxford 1892-97; supplement 1900-1906) is excellent. For the New Testament, the manual one of O. Schmoller (Gütersloh 1869; 7th ed. by A. Schmoller, Stuttgart 1938) is excellent, while those of C. H. Bruder (Leipzig 1842) and of W. F. Moulton - A. S. Geden (Edinburgh 1897) are more complete.

There also exist concordances in modern languages, especially in English, German, French, Swedish, generally works of Protestants.

The first compiler of real concordances was St. Anthony of Padua, whose work was printed only in 1624, with purely oratorical purposes. The Thesaurus biblicus of Ph. P. Merz (Augsburg 1733), often reissued, is still in use. Of a more scientific intent are the concordances of G. F. Allot (Antwerp 1577), of A. Calmet (Paris 1722), of G. Vespasiano (Venice 1858) and the more modern dictionaries of F. - G. Vigouroux (v.), of M. Hagen (v.), of E. Kalt (Paderborn 1931). Finally, the various biblical encyclopedias should be remembered.

Angelo Penna